After not being able to get much under 7Mg Pred daily without feeling ghastly for 12 months or so ,some thing new had evolved, ( I am aware that i appear to be adrenal insufficient )....... Anyway, i try to ride my pushy about 35 k two or three times weekly,.....recently three parts through the ride i have started to feel unwell, by the time i get home i have a pretty good headache ,feel crook in the tummy, and am quite dizzy. Riding two days in a row made the symptoms much more severe.
Seen my Rheumy, who said its adrenal insufficiency . Had a cortisol blood test at 8.30 am, results showed an nmol / L reading of 64........... Have to see an endocrinologist next week to find out more ................ So now i am wondering what lies ahead .........
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billydownunder
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Hello there, around 7mg you start to enter a different zone to where you were around 10mg. Personally I found this the most challenging time in terms of dealing with adrenal insufficiency. Your glands have been switched off because there has been so much artificial cortisone , your own body’s natural cortisol hasn’t been needed. Around 7mg can be for some an area where there’s not enough on its own for your body’s needs, but still too much for your body’s adrenal axis to really get the message to get going. Your rides will be quite a challenge physically, even if it is normal for you, and your symptoms sound very like you were going into a crisis because your body can’t keep up. For me, my body didn’t really get the message until about 5mg, but even then it was still a bit too high for the feedback system to take notice fully. If you are tested now, it would be unsurprising if your adrenal function was still very low because you are at this in between stage. My Endo said that he didn’t like doing a Synacthen test until people are at least at 4mg or lower because for some even at 5mg it can still have a suppression effect. Their approach was to keep reducing slowly to keep letting the body know it’s time to start working in the adrenal department. So if your results come back low now, don’t despair. Unfortunately, you may find you have to rein in your physical challenges a bit, until your body can cope on its own a bit more. Basically, really listen to your body. If rides are too much, cut down. You can’t rush this bit of the recovery because to impatiently hurry down the dose ladder to lower risks adrenal crisis which at worst can be life threatening. If you go on a ride make sure you take Pred with you just in case and wear a medical alert just in case you have an accident or collapse.
Have a read of this if you haven’t already. There are other adrenal related posts in the FAQ’s too.
I am glad you are in safe hands billydownunder. As DorsetLady says, look at FAQs. Hopefully you can look forward to feeling better in the future. What is a pushy, it’s a push bike! I should know with half my family in NSW.When my Adrenals were underperforming my Endocrinologist was keen to get me on to Hydrocortisone. Lucky for me my Adrenals recovered when my Pred dose got down to 3 mgs. I may not be so lucky when I get done with GCA treatment. It could mean a low dose of cortisol for life in that case. Good luck!
The only thing I would add having similar side effects as you re adrenal insufficiency is listen to your body, don’t over exert it & slow down. It is good you are seeing an Endocrinologist.
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